If you are injured in an auto accident or a slip and fall, the first step is usually to file a claim with the appropriate insurance company. After an auto accident, New Jersey’s Personal Injury Protection law may require you to file with your own insurance company; in the case of a slip and fall, you would file with the property owner’s insurer. However, in either case, filing puts you in an adversarial relationship with the insurance company.
You may not notice this at first, especially with your own insurer, whose premiums you’ve been faithfully paying. But in short order, you’ll understand that your goal of getting fair compensation for your injuries does not match the insurance company’s goal of protecting its bottom line. Here are some of the clues:
The insurance company would like you to believe this is just how things work, and to a certain extent that’s true. This is how the process works for claimants who are not represented by an attorney. The insurance company plays games, because they think they can get away with it, because you don’t have enough experience with these types of claims to recognize what they’re doing.
But when you retain a personal injury attorney early in the process, insurers suspend much of their gamesmanship. They know the cheap tactics won’t make things cheaper for them, so they move onto their next goal: closing the case quickly. So, your initial settlement offer will be changed to more closely reflect reality. From there, with the help of your attorney, candid negotiations can begin and your case can move forward.
If you’ve been injured in an accident in Bergen County or anywhere in New Jersey, Seigel Law is ready to help. Contact us online or call 201.444.4000 today for a free consultation and case evaluation.